


Red String of Fate

by a_salty_alto



Category: Avengers Assemble (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fix-It of Sorts, Love Confessions, M/M, Oblivious Steve Rogers, Pining, Realizations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-28
Updated: 2017-10-28
Packaged: 2019-01-25 08:53:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12527612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_salty_alto/pseuds/a_salty_alto
Summary: The bond between soulmates is said to be the most powerful kind, but can it transcend space, time, and infinite dimensions?





	Red String of Fate

Steve tossed and turned for a few hours before finally getting up. Looked like he wouldn’t be getting any sleep tonight either. He went down to the gym like he had the past five nights since they’d returned to the Compound. Not that he’d gotten a lot of sleep before, but before he could at least  _ talk _ to Tony. Now though, the absence of the genius’s voice was like someone had carved out Steve’s chest. 

He couldn’t help it. They were teammates, co-leaders, friends,  _ best friends _ . Of course Steve missed Tony. He missed his sense of humour, sitting next to him on the couch, having him at his back during a fight. The other day, the Avengers had fought some of Doom’s robots and Steve could almost hear Tony making fun of them. 

Steve missed the way Tony smiled, and the way he looked when he was talking about robotics, the way he could look breathtaking even when it was 7 in the morning and Tony hadn’t had his morning coffee. 

Steve started pounding on the punching bag like if he just hit it hard enough, he’d a rip hole in the multiverse and bring the man he loved back.

Loved?

_ I love him _ Steve realized as he punched the bag off of it’s chain. But that didn’t concern him so much as the tiny red string that had materialized around Steve’s pinky.

* * *

_ ‘Tony, can you play this piece for me?’ Maria asked from beside her son on the ornate Austrian grand piano in the living room.  _

_ ‘The Soulmate’s Sonnet?’ _

_ ‘Yes that one,’ _

_ ‘Mama, what’s a soulmate?’ _

_ ‘Oh bambino,a soulmate is someone who loves so much, your bond is unbreakable’ _

_ ‘But how do you know someone is your soulmate?’ _

_ ‘Well, it’s simple. The moment that two compatible people realize they love each other very much, a little red string ties itself around their pinkies, linking them together forever.’ _

_ ‘Do you and Dad have a string?’ _

_ ‘Well, not yet. But I’m sure it’s only a matter of time.’ _

Tony never knew whether his parents had a string or not, but Tony had given up on finding his a long time ago. It always went the same way. He’d fall head over heels for someone and wait and hope that maybe  _ this  _ time the string would form, but it never did. Then Tony would lock himself away until he could pretend he was fine and swear that he wouldn’t go through this ever again.

But he always did, and it was somehow worse with Steve. It wasn’t just that Steve was Captain America, he was  _ Steve _ . He was kind, and he would tease, but he had your back when it counted and it felt like Tony had just looked into those blue eyes for the first time in one moment and was madly in love with his co-leader in the next. But, Steve didn’t feel the same way, obviously.

Tony had been terrified when he realized he’d actually  _ flirted _ with Steve when they’d been turned into supervillains by the Squadron Supreme, but Steve never acted like anything was out of the ordinary. Tony was thankful for that, no awkward rejections, just pretend nothing was wrong and bury your feelings and move on with life. It’s what he did for everything else. They were friends, nothing more, and Tony would have to live with that.

At least until the string appeared. 

Tony held his breath as he raised his hand to stare at the crimson thread. It was the only thing to ever change in his personal tech-less hell, and Tony, hoping beyond hope,  _ tugged _

* * *

The moment Steve felt a tug from the other end of the string that seemed to just disappear into thin air, Steve raced into the control room and called Dr. Foster. 

“Dr. Foster, I’m in love with Tony” Steve said, overjoyed.

“Um, that’s great Cap but why are you calling in the middle of the night?” Dr. Foster’s asked tiredly. Right, Steve hadn’t actually slept.

“Because I know he loves me back. We have a string.”

“You have a- oh. Oh! Ohohohohohoh. Can you feel him on the other side?”

“Yeah, he’s tugging on it.”

“That’s amazing. I can work with that, I’ll be right over.”

After Steve hung up, he woke the other Avengers, and told them what was going on.

“Finally got your head out your ass, huh?” Sam laughed, patting Steve on the back.

“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh we’re going to get Iron Man back?” Kamala bounced

“Dr. Foster thinks she can use our link to find him, yeah.”

“This is most wondrous news! We should prepare a feast in honor of our friends return and upcoming nuptials” Thor cheered.

“Yes on the return party, but we don’t need a wedding party, Thor.”

“Pray tell why not? The bond between the two of you is the most powerful kind to exist. As you can see, it even transcends space and time. ‘Tis folly to celebrate it in anyway other than to promise your lives to one another.”

“Thor,”

“Captain.”

Steve sighed, they’d cross that bridge when they got to it. What mattered now was bringing Tony home. 

The next few hours were a blur as Dr. Foster, with the help of Sam and Vision worked on her device and scanned Steve’s string to find where it went. Until finally…

“Do you want to do the honors Captain?” Dr. Foster asked. Steve nodded and went up to the console.

“Iron Man? Tony, do you hear me?” There was a moment of silence and it felt like the entire world was holding its breath as the first slivers of sunlight began to peek out outside when,

“Loud and clear Cap.” The room erupted into a chorus of cheers before settling down.

“You ready to come home, Shellhead?”

“‘Course.” 

Dr. Foster powered up the machine, and Steve could see Tony, still in his jeans and t-shirt he’d been arrested in all those months ago along with the Iron Man armor sitting in a pile next to him. Tony tossed the armor through the portal first, and carefully stepped through the gateway that Tony, T’challa, Scott, and Dr. Foster had carefully calibrated to remove Ultron from the Arc Reactor as Tony passed through it back when Dr. Foster had first designed it. Tony stepped through and collapsed into Steve’s armors. The everyone in the room tensed as Tony’s Arc Reactor turned blue. 

And stayed blue. 

Everyone relaxed, and Tony looked up at Steve. Steve thought he might start crying. Tony was back in his arms after so long. Steve closed his eyes and gave Tony a kiss.

“I love you he whispered.”

“I love you too,” and it was the sweetest thing Steve could have ever heard.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, I wasn't mean enough to have Ultron come back and mess things up so you get a handwave and that's it.  
> This fic also has [Tumblr post](https://a-salty-alto.tumblr.com/post/166864548015/red-string-of-fate)
> 
> I might revist this concept for something angstier, I don't know. Have a lovely day!


End file.
